Friday, August 9, 2013

Seven Quick Takes: Inaugural Edition

So…I am not known for being
quick about getting to my point, so I must confess that the idea of “Seven
Quick Takes” is somewhat daunting.

And perhaps it is the very
reason I have chosen to avoid it for lo, these many months.

But the pressure is getting to
me and I cannot avoid it any longer.

OK, that’s a lie…no one is
pressuring me except myself. To see if I can do it.

I shall not belabor the point
any longer. My Seven Random Quick Takes:

1. Sometimes I like to imagine
that my boys are more mature than their compatriots (I’m not 100% certain about
the word choice there but I’m going with it…you know what I mean). But last
week-end they proved me wrong. While at a sleepover birthday party, they were witnesses
to (although supposedly were not involved in the actual “miscreant activity”) the
birthday boy receiving a moustache and various smiley faces on his face
while he slept. This very same birthday boy was the one who, just a week prior at
a church middle school retreat, had been cautioning the other boys “You NEVER
want to be the first one asleep at a sleepover.” Point made…you DON’T want to
be the first one asleep at a sleepover.

2. Bible Time at our house always
brings up good fodder for discussion. One day this week we had the following
discussion, as we were reading about Noah and the flood, and all that “good”
stuff.

12yo: So if we’re all from Noah
and part of the same family, should we REALLY be marrying each other?

3. Just a tip for you, if you are
ever in my house and find yourself without sufficient supplies in the bathroom.
“Mom, we’re out of toilet paper!” is a very different statement than “Mom, could
you get me some more toilet paper please? I don’t have any more!” This
difference could, possibly, elicit a different response from “Mom”. Also, contrary to common belief in my
household, if you find yourself in a true bathroom emergency, facial tissue (commonly
called Kleenex in our house, regardless of brand) will do in a pinch. Pardon
any pun regarding "pinch" you may be thinking there. (Christine, I'm thinking of you specifically...)

4. As my boys were reading their
history together one day, I overheard the following conversation:

10yo: What does that word mean?

12yo: You could look it up…

10yo: (voice full of shock and
horror)Oh my gosh, you sound like Mom!

I assure you, my darlings,
there ARE worse things than sounding like me.

5. We learned about V-mail this
week. Do you know about V-mail? It was used in WWII to save space (and weight)
in the planes transporting supplies. You can read a bit about V-mail here, but basically
V-mail letters were transferred to film, transported home to the US, and then
printed out on a special paper measuring about 60% of the original size. And we
have one tht my grandpa sent to a neighbor. Here it is

First folded up in the envelope...I LOVE that the neighbor kept that too!

Standard-size paperclips, just to illustrate size of the letter.

The PBA were interested to see
it also…we are just entering WWII in our history, so this has practical application…always
a good thing, especially for my kinesthetic learner.See, you DID learn something from me today...I'm nothing if not educational.

6. I got my first paid-writer gig.
Now, it’s not much money and it’s for a local magazine, but I am still
OVER-THE-MOON about it. The articles won’t appear until December and January. Thanks
to all of you for all the encouragement to start writing again and to keep
writing. I will be sure to include the links once they actually make it to print!

7. I
have a new button, all for me! (I’ll share more very soon about the “whys & hows”!) Feel
free to grab it and attach it to your blog. And share it with others.

This
beautiful creation was made by Elizabeth Bradt at Rocks No Salt Mommy. Please visit her if you're looking for a great blogger, a fantastic button-designer, or both!

Ha! That ham comment is absolutely hilarious! Congratulations on the paid writing gig! It doesn't matter if it's $5, it's a great accomplishment. I'm slightly jealous, I must say :) Thanks for the shout-out with the button. I'm so glad you liked it. I'm really happy that I reworked the design because it looks ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS with the background colors of your blog!! Again, thanks for the link to my little corner of the interwebs :)

Random Stuff About Me

I will be fostering (hence the blog name…see what I did there? No, not just a clever name b/c I am a foster care advocate; this technique is called a double-entendre…look at me teaching so much already. Perhaps I under-estimated myself and my educational abilities...) the woman I feel God has meant me to be: a writer, a sharer, a story-teller, a friend, a listener, a prayer-warrior and lots of other hopefully-funny, silly, and crazy things.